It is not ethically permissible for a legal aid society to withdraw from its
trust account, for its own use, funds which it has received from former clients
for costs advanced, which funds were not used. This is true even though the
former clients cannot now be located although the society has made a diligent
search for them. In the future, it would be ethically permissible for the legal
aid society to request that its clients, at the time of their making a deposit
for costs, sign a consent form authorizing the legal aid office to keep unused
client funds as a donation to the legal aid program, provided a full
explanation is given to the client and no pressure is exerted to secure the
consent. [See DR:9-102, DR:9-103, and ABA Informal Opinion 1391, June 3, 1977.]